Cards' Looper put in charge of cooling Pirates' hot bats

Baseball Betting Lines

06/01/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates will attempt to bring out the heavy lumber for a second straight day as the hard-hitting club resumes a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals this afternoon at Busch Stadium.

Pittsburgh drew even in this set between National League Central foes with a 19-hit onslaught on Saturday that resulted in a 14-4 rout. Luis Rivas belted his first career grand slam and was one of three Pirate players to homer on the night, while Xavier Nady knocked in three runs with a first-inning double that staked the Bucs to an early lead.

Ronny Paulino and Freddy Sanchez also went deep for Pittsburgh, with Paulino finishing 3-for-5 with three RBI and Sanchez collecting three hits as well. Jose Bautista went 4-for-5 with a run-scoring single to help the Pirates improve to 2-3 on a current seven-game road trip.

Pittsburgh also received a sharp effort on the mound from Paul Maholm (3-5). The left-hander held St. Louis to one run and four hits without issuing a walk over the first 6 2/3 innings.

On the other side, Cardinals rookie Mike Parisi (0-2) was bombed for eight runs and eight hits and lasted just 2 2/3 innings in his first major league start.

Troy Glaus hit a solo homer for St. Louis, which had a three-game win streak halted, while Albert Pujols ended 2-for-3 to raise his season average to .369.

A Pittsburgh offense that ranks fourth among NL teams in runs scored will take its swings today against struggling Cardinals right-hander Braden Looper. The ex-closer is 1-3 with a 7.17 ERA over his four most recent mound trips and hasn't pitched beyond six innings on any of those occasions. Over that span, the right-hander has given up 34 hits in just 21 1/3 innings of work.

Looper was lit up for eight runs (7 earned) on nine hits before being yanked after 4 1/3 innings in a home loss to Houston on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old is 2-2 with five lifetime saves against the Pirates, while posting a 3.07 ERA over 27 total games (3 starts).

Ian Snell will also attempt to put a poor performance in his last start behind him when he takes the mound for Pittsburgh. The talented hurler was a mess on the mound in Tuesday's outing at Cincinnati, as Snell issued seven walks in just five innings and allowed seven runs to suffer the loss in the Pirates' 9-6 setback.

The defeat left Snell with a 1-3 record and a subpar 6.75 earned run average in seven road starts this year.

The 26-year-old is going through one of the roughest stretches of his five- year career, having lost four straight decisions and failing to record a victory in any of his last eight starts. Snell hasn't won since April 12.

He was also hit hard in a May 15 start at Busch Stadium, where Snell surrendered five runs and 11 hits over a season-low four innings. He was spared another potential loss, however, when the Pirates rallied late for an 11-5 victory.

Snell has faced the Cardinals 10 times previously (9 starts) and owns a 3-3 record with a 4.25 ERA against St. Louis.

Pittsburgh owns a 4-3 edge in the 2008 season series with St. Louis following Saturday's triumph. The Bucs took two of three from the Cards at Busch Stadium earlier this month.

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MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds

With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.

Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season.  Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money. 

This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy.  A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.

Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:

Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame)
Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma)
Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State)
Michael Bush (RB, Louisville)
Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia)
Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville)
Chris Leak (QB, Florida)
Mike Hart (RB, Michigan)
Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State)
Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame)
Drew Tate (QB, Iowa)
Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal)
Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn)
Chad Henne (QB, Michigan)
Kyle Wright (QB, Miami)
Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State)
Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama)
JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU)
Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State)
Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina)
Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech)		 5-2
7-2
7-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
18-1
18-1
20-1
30-1
35-1
35-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1

For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.